Housing First

Thu, 11/13/2008 - 12:45 — TechMission

Housing first

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Housing First is a relatively recent innovation in human service programs and social policy regarding treatment of the homeless. Rather than moving homeless individuals through different "levels" of housing, known as the Continuum of Care, whereby each level moves them closer to "independent housing" (for example: from the streets to a public shelter, and from a public shelter to a shelter run by a state agency, and from there to a transitional housing program, and from there to their own apartment in the community) Housing First moves the homeless immediately from the streets or homeless shelters into their own apartments.

Housing First, when supported by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, does not only provide housing. The model, used by nonprofit agencies throughout America, also provides wraparound case management services to the tenants. This case management provides stability for homeless individuals and families, which increases their success. It allows for accountability and promotes self-sufficiency. The housing provided through government supported Housing First programs is permanent and "affordable," meaning that tenants pay 30% of their income towards rent. Housing First targets individuals and families with disabilities.[1] This housing is supported through two HUD programs. They are the Supportive Housing Program and the Shelter Plus Care Program.[2] Pathways' Housing First model has been recognized by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration as an Evidence-based practice. [3]

In Massachusetts, the Home & Healthy for Good program reported some significant outcomes that were favorable especially in the area of cost savings.[4]

The Denver Housing First Collaborative, operated by the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless, provides housing through a housing first approach to more than 200 chronically homeless individuals. A 2006 cost study documented a significant reduction in the use and cost of emergency services by program participants as well as increased health status. Emergency room visits and costs were reduced by an average of 34.3 percent. Hospital inpatient costs were reduced by 66 percent. Detox visits were reduced by 82 percent. Incarceration days and costs were reduced by 76 percent. 77 percent of those entering the program continued to be housed in the program after two years.

In August 2007, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development announced findings of a 30 percent decline in the number of chronic homeless individuals no longer living on the streets or in shelters. Credit for this unprecedented decline, falling from 176,000 people in 2005 to 124,000 people in 2007, has been attributed to the "housing first" movement that has spread to cities and jurisdictions across the United States. [5]

Housing First technology is also being adapted to decreasing the larger segment of the homeless population, family homelessness. Dennis Culhane, University of Pennsylvania homelessness researcher, states: “There’s a lot of policy innovation going on around family homelessness, and it’s borrowing a page from the chronic handbook - the focus is on permanent housing and housing-first strategies.” [6]